Ivan Smagghe

As published on Earplug

Fans of The End’s Bugged Out! nights, or indeed the Kill The DJ collective, will no doubt be familiar with the name Ivan Smagghe. The Frenchman, now English resident, has been synonymous with the electronica genre for some time and his remixes, such as ‘Suck My Deck’, are cemented in the style’s foundations. His decade-long friendship with Craig Richards has given him the opportunity to join Fabric’s squad list. I caught up with him recently to chat about life, London and growing old gracefully.

What is it about London you love so much?
I’ve lived here for three years now. I like London because you can get lost in it.

Is there anything about France that you miss?
Apart from food, not much.

Not even the French people?
The French people? Why would I miss the French people?

What’s the best view of London?
It would be a random street in the East End. Facing a brick wall, that’s the best view of London. That’s what it’s all about.

What about the best place to go for a piece of vinyl?
Rough Trade and Phonica . The best of both worlds.

The best place for a drink?
The Griffin in Shoreditch because it’s got a really rough edge.

And your favourite shop?
The Cinema Store in Upper St Martin’s Lane. I’m a movie buff.

Do you have a favourite cinema here in London?
They’re all really bad. Except, the Electric Cinema, which is really cool.

And a favourite restaurant?
The only place you can eat now in Shoreditch without a DJ or loud music would be The Rivington. But St. John in Spitalfields or Farringdon would be my favourite. Very English.

What is it you like so much about Fabric and why did you choose it for your NYE celebrations in January?
‘Celebrations’ is a bit of a heavy word. I don’t really celebrate New Year. I don’t like New Year. Quite often people are forced to enjoy themselves. I don’t want to end up in a place that I don’t know with loads of people I don’t know. Fabric is home. In London, Fabric is my home.

You have a varied taste in music – what can rock and dance music learn from one another and how do they compliment one another?
Dance music has got more of a function. The other forms of music, like rock or pop, are now less functional. They are more artistic, that’s where the game is. I come from a background where there really wasn’t any difference.

The collectives you’ve been a part of – Bugged Out! and Kill The DJ – they’re very diverse in their musical tastes, do you think eclectism is essential for someone like yourself these days?
I like the idea, I do not like the word. I’m very wary of words. I love them but I don’t want to be boxed in. ‘Eclectism’ is quite often a way to hide a non-descript taste and not having balls. You don’t want a washed-out soup made from a bit of everything. That’s not the point of eclectism. I’d rather take a very good techno-only DJ than a DJ who is going to play a bit of everything badly.

How did that work in the Kill The DJ setup?
If we can we do everything very well. And if we cant, we try and do a record that is going to be very good in one style then a record that is very good in another style. My example – I’d rather buy one very good 12inch of minimal techno than a shit nu-rave record which is basically dance and rock mixed together really badly. That’s eclectism for me, it’s liking the best of everything, not mixing everything.

What’s your typical week like?
DJ at the weekend. Try to make as much music as I can during the week. It’s a fairly normal life nowadays in a kind of working rhythym. It’s not my life, the nightlife thing. It was at some point but not any more. It is my profession. I thoroughly enjoy it and I wouldn’t change it but it is my profession. But when you say that to people they think it’s bad, but it’s not. I greatly enjoy my job but it is my job, not my lifestyle. I totally believed that once upon a time and it hurts a little bit when you know you’ve got to leave all that behind. You don’t want to be 40 and still claiming that lifestyle, it’s not a very good look. That makes you a better DJ, the distance.

In terms of the technology these days – digital versus vinyl – are you embracing it?
You know what, it is exactly the same. Whatever you play it doesn’t matter if you play good records or bad records. What I don’t like is when DJs pretend to play vinyl and continuing with a computer. I use Serato, I use CDs, I use computers. I don’t care if people play straight from the CDs or from vinyl. If someone in a nightclub can tell me whether the sound comes from an MP3 or a piece of vinyl I’d be very happy for that person to explain it to me.

Is there anything you are genuinely scared of?
Not much, there are things I don’t like – bigotry, boredom. I hide behind working, I’m scared of being bored.

What are you excited about for 2008?
I’m quite into buying things for my studio at the moment. It’s a bit geeky.